Fireworks Bigger and Better

Despite the recession, the country’s largest fireworks shows—from Las Vegas to Mount Rushmore—will be bigger and better than ever. The New York City show has been moved from East River to the Hudson, where 45,000 pounds of explosives will travel over a mile on six barges before they’re launched 1,000 feet into the sky. Pyro Spectaculars, the company that puts on New York’s show, traveled to China for specific designs for this year’s extravaganza. The show will use at least 10,000 more than last year’s—and eight times as many fireworks that explode at more than 600 feet in the air. The 27-minute show will attract around 3 million people on the ground and hopes to appeal to a wider television audience.